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Millville council waives one residentlate fee, discusses bank bill-pay and possible grace period
Summary
Council granted a single waiver for a utility late fee after a resident reported a delayed bank bill-pay; staff explained check-processing timelines and the council asked for a review of the late-fee percentage and notice options.
The Millville City Council waived late fees for a single utility account on April 9 after a resident, Callie Hanks, said a bank bill-pay delay caused a missed payment.
Hanks told the council she sometimes receives mailed bills late and said transaction fees and bank processing times make meeting the due date difficult. Recorder Corey Twedt and Treasurer Megan Dyer explained that the city offers email billing (which residents can sign up for) and that bank bill-pay services sometimes queue and batch-check payments, which can result in checks arriving several days to more than a week after the customer's requested payment date.
Dyer said processing delinquent payments by envelope postmark would be time-consuming given the volume of payments received; she described that on one recent day she processed 162 payments. Councilmembers discussed the current 15% late-fee charge and the possibility of a standard, codified grace period. Councilmember Jacob Ames moved to waive the late fees for this specific case and asked staff to revisit the late-fee percentage; the motion passed unanimously.
Councilmember Pamela June asked staff to research what other cities charge for delinquent utilities and to present options on a consistent grace period and improved notification (including e-mail reminders).
Next steps: Staff will research comparative late-fee practices, evaluate notice and email-billing uptake, and bring recommendations (including any proposed ordinance or fee schedule changes) back to council.
